Change stinks. Failing stinks more!

Dealing with change. You don’t like it. I don’t like it. Nobody really likes it.

It’s a hassle. It takes you out of your comfort zone. You probably say to yourself, ”I just figured this out, now I have to change again?” Or how about “But this is the way it has always been.”

Some of us don’t resist change, we just resist being changed. After all, why would I care if you change as long it’s not affecting me? Go ahead, change all you want!

Sound familiar? I know I’ve thought it plenty of times.

“Don” is a friend of mine who is struggling to find a job that he can be happy with. He’s got lots of solid experience. When he asks my opinion on his search, I give him some pointers. The problem is that he doesn’t put them to use. He doesn’t want to take the time to network effectively. He doesn’t want to use social media to enhance his job search.

He thinks his experience should speak for itself and all this “other stuff” should be unnecessary. He’s refusing to change his approach and it is causing him to fail. It’s killing his overall happiness. That’s a shame.

How about you? If you have much of a life, you’re dealing with change.

If you work for a company that is trying to adapt to its market (I hope you are), you are dealing with change.

If you have kids, you’re dealing with change.

If you go to a good church, you should see change.

Change happens all around you. Your willingness to deal with it is critical to your success at work and in life. Charles Darwin is credited with saying “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the more intelligent, but rather the one most responsive to change.”

Darwin was right. Those who resist change the most also have the hardest time succeeding at work and in life. If you don’t like that, but want to be happy and healthy long-term, it’s time to get over it.

Only you can make the choice to change. It isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it – for you and your loved ones.

Question: Do you have additional thoughts on dealing with change? I welcome your comments.

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I strongly relate to the fact that simply having children forces you to change - constantly! In fact, as someone who has never been comfortable with change and who likes the status quo - my 3 children have dragged me kicking and screaming (ok, not literally but almost!) into the changes that are a normal part of growing and living. And honestly, it has gotten easier for me to go with the flow and embrace change. And it's only taken 27 years!

Great post Jeff. Leaning into the pain of change takes courage, but also provides great payoffs.

My two-year-old-son often says "don't like it" when asked if he wants to do something new or different. And then a few minutes later, you can't pull him away.

Getting over resistance to change is a challenge, and one I think we all work on for our entire lives. God is very good at throwing change at us just when we think we are getting settled and doing well. It can be frustrating at first, but I've yet to look back and not be grateful for all of the experiences and growth which came from a challenge.